Smart dog collar

Smart dog collar

Human have their fitbits and Apple Watch devices, so it’s only fair that our furry companions get a little tech swag of their own. Enter the Buddy smart dog collar.

Created by Squeaker, the same company that delivered the Poochlight, an LED dog collar to help keep your pooch safe at night, the new device aims to give you a way to track the activity and location of your pet.

The device offers much of the functionality found in many human fitness trackers, including GPS tracking, a temperature sensor, an accelerometer, Bluetooth connectivity, a rechargeable battery and a built-in OLED information display.

All this is packaged in a very futuristically designed, waterproof collar that features LED lighting effects.

The device’s associated app (iOS and Android) allows the pet owner to create a virtual activity fence for the dog, which will alert the owner if the dog somehow moves beyond that activity fence. In addition to the app, Buddy also comes with a Wi-Fi-enabled base station that will also fire off LED lighting alerts if your dog moves outside of its designated activity area.

And if you’re an Apple Watch owner, there’s an app for the smartwatch that allows you to control the Buddy’s lighting system as well as track your dog’s activity via integration with Apple’s Health app.

All this tech directed at a dog’s daily habits might seem like overkill, until you remember that many people are now regularly paying thousands of dollars for pet surgery and are also probably interested in what their dog is up to when they’re not home.

The Buddy, which comes in small, medium and large, will sell for $180, and you can pre-order one via the company’s Kickstarter campaign which has already garnered about 25% of its $280,000 goal.